Pep Guardiola has responded to Roy Keane's criticism of Manchester City's 0-0 draw with Arsenal, in which Keane compared Erling Haaland to a "League Two player."
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Manchester City played a goalless draw against their opponents at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, with Erling Haaland having a frustrating afternoon. The Norwegian striker only managed to touch the ball 23 times throughout the match, as City dropped crucial points in their pursuit of the Premier League title.Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was critical of Haaland's performance, stating that while the striker is the best in the world in front of goal, his overall play needs improvement. Keane believes that Haaland's general play during the match was below par and that the striker needs to work on this aspect of his game to become a complete player.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane was critical of Haaland's performance, stating that while the striker is the best in the world in front of goal, his overall play needs improvement. Keane believes that Haaland's general play during the match was below par and that the striker needs to work on this aspect of his game to become a complete player.
"In front of goal, he's the best in the world, but his general play for such a player - it is so poor. Not just today. He has to improve that. "He's almost like a League Two player - that's the way I look at him. His general play has to improve. It will do over the next few years. [He's a] brilliant striker but he has to improve his overall game."
However, Guardiola defended Haaland and claimed it wasn't the striker's fault that his team didn't score, speaking ahead of City's fixture against Aston Villa on Wednesday night.
"I do not agree with him, absolutely not. He's a manager for the second or third league? I don't think so." "He's the best striker in the world, and he helped us win what we won last season. The reason we didn't create many chances [vs. Arsenal] was not Erling; it's that we need more presence in the final third with more people. "We played an exceptional game; I reviewed the game against Arsenal, but we missed more people in the final third, maybe for the quality and skills that we have.
Guardiola believes that Erling Haaland is an 'exceptional player', and he is surprised that criticism is coming from a former player.
"Erling is exceptional."I'm surprised this came from a former player. From journalists, I can understand that they have never been on the pitch, but former players are always a surprise. It's like the referees when they retire, criticize the referees.
"How difficult is that business for the players?" It always surprises me. Their memories disappear quickly. The problems the players have, they had. They missed a thousand million times, and they were hurt when they were criticized by the former players. "But today, it is what it is." We have to accept it and move forward. I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I'm not going to criticize my colleagues when I retire. 'Should be this, should be that, could do that'—I could do it now, but I don't do it. But everyone has to live for something. "Players have to accept it; it's the job. If you don't want to accept it, you have to do another job. When you're this public figure, you have to accept it."
Guardiola insists Haaland's poor performance against top-five teams is down to the team, despite him scoring just once in six attempts this season.
"Sometimes he misses, sometimes lack of supply, sometimes instructions from the managers, sometimes the opponent is really good," said Guardiola. "In football, there is not just one reason, there are many. Football is a team sport, it's not individual like golf or tennis."
